


The Maagu

by lololaufeyson



Category: Ghost (Sweden Band), Ghost BC
Genre: Dysfunctional Family, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:26:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 8,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29596200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lololaufeyson/pseuds/lololaufeyson
Summary: A collection of random world building and characterization and ficlets from my and my girl best friend's ghost au we call the maagu (the mariah and avery ghost universe) It's just copy pasted texts so there's virtually no grammar or punctuation <3 and I'm putting this here for me and her but you can read it if you want uwu
Relationships: Nameless Ghoul(s)/Papa Emeritus III, Papa Emeritus III/Original Male Character(s)
Kudos: 1





	1. Chapter 1

the first time terzo gets into trouble, like serious trouble, the “oh fuck....” can’t let nihil or imperator find out trouble, he was messing around in the chapel, a very dark room (seriously why can’t there be some more candles in here??) with tall ceilings, and accidental knocked over a vase of unholy oil onto his fathers prayer texts, he tried to dab the oil out but it just stuck to his hands and clothes, and then the ink started to run, and terzo started to run, the oil clung to his own clothes and gave off a very sweet scent, if he weren’t scared out of his mind trying to find a place to hide and clean up he’d probably appreciate it more, besides the point, terzo ran until he was outside, it was just becoming spring, still a whisp of cold in the air but the sun gave off warmth and the grounds were beginning to spring to life, pausing for breath he looked to his left and saw the greenhouses, unlikely any ghouls would be out there working at this time of day, he opened the wooden door slowly and peaked in, it was very warm inside and smelled of earth and fertilizer, nobody was working on the group of vegetables in the front so he came all the way in and closed the door behind him, sagging against the door and breathing for a second he looked down at his hands and clothes, ruined and still very much covered in oil, he looked around and spotted a small sink and faucet, maybe he could wash some of it off, he walked over and switched it on, watched as the old taps began to spurt water out, he ran his hands under it and winced at the freezing cold, better then nothing, cleaning the oil off his hands was quick work but the front of his shirt was something worse, unfortunate really, it was one of his favorites, he was thinking for a second on how to get the oil out when the door to the greenhouse opened behind him, he spun around, and staring back at him was primo, if he weren’t so shocked he might’ve mentioned his brother was wearing gardening clothes, primo looked terzo up and down and then sighed  
“what did you do this time?” as he walked into the greenhouse farther, terzo shook his head, just now processing what his brother was doing,  
“what are you doing out here?”  
“i like to come and check on the garden”  
“but that’s not part of your duties”  
“and where does it say i can’t have fun?”  
terzo stares at him before laughing, “i just didn’t think of you as the get down on your knees in the soil type”  
“i don’t get down on my knees”  
“oh?”  
“no, the beds are raised up”  
terzo laughed while primo smirked, walking over to fill a watering can, as he walked up and began filling his can he looked terzo up and down again, “what are you covered in?” he asked and then smelled, “is that? oil?”,  
terzo began to fidget and plucked at his shirt, “....just. spilled some is all”  
“then why are you out here cleaning it off? get one of the ghouls to take care of it”  
terzo sighed and looked down, “i may have. spilled it in the chapel. on one of fathers books...”  
when terzo looked back up primo was turning off the water and taking his can over to a row of tomato’s growing, he said nothing, when he didn’t get a response and primo hadn’t even looked at him terzo spoke again, “what?” “nothing.”  
“then why aren’t you saying anything, not even a ‘he’s going to kill you’”  
“cause i think this time he actually might”  
primo looked up this time, worry on his face, terzo was stunned, he’d never seen one of his brothers scared, primo kept walking around and watering, terzo turned back around to the water and took his shirt off sighing, it was a lost cause anyway, behind him he heard primo clear his throat,  
“there might be an extra shirt back in the closet, i’m not sure but you can check” terzo turned back around, his brother wasn’t looking at him still watering, but he could tell he wanted to help him, there was an extra shirt, he threw it on and walked back over to primo, now watering a row of ground vegetables, terzo, unsure decided to ask a question,  
“um, i’m not usually out here, what are... well what are all these?”  
primo smirked a bit where he was standing, “you truly don’t know what a carrot looks like?” “well it’s under the dirt how am i supposed to know it’s a carrot?”  
“that’s cause all you know about food is whats put on your table”  
“not true”  
“very much true”  
terzo huffed and propped his hip on the wooden raised bed,  
“well then mister know it all show me”  
and that’s how primo introduced terzo to all the different types of vegetables and fruits they grew, he might still not know how they all become the food on the table but that’s just rich kid problems right? by the time they left the greenhouse it was late and everyone knew something had happened to the texts in the chapel and yet they couldn’t figure out what, when primo and terzo walked in primo said they had been out in the greenhouse the whole time working together, terzo smiled and promised to himself he owed his brother, big time, for this one


	2. Chapter 2

"you dont have to be so gentle, it doesnt hurt, really" terzo was sat on a stool in the bathroom with stratus behind him gently daubing a cotton ball on the puffy skin around one of his bites.   
dried blood caked on around the edges where he didnt want to scrub, terzo was a liar, no way it didnt hurt. "sorry i was a little rough" stratus looked at the five bite wounds dotting terzos nape and shoulders, each bite with at least 6 puncture wounds from his many fangs.   
"you don't need to apologize, i like it when you get all feral and possessive" he grinned and stratus's reflection in the mirror "id tell you if it was too much, you know"   
"i do." stratus tossed the ruddy ball into the trash with the dozens of others and peeled open another bandage "we're going to need to get more of these, we're on our last box" he was of course referring to the large bandaids they buy in large quantities because theyre the perfect size to cover a certain someones bites, and that same certain someone really Loved to bite   
"probably have to get new sheets too"   
"are you sure youre not dizzy or faint?"   
"i said i am okay tessoro, it looks like more blood than it is"  
stratus considered his answer and smoothed the bandaid over the last bite. that one was going to bruise pretty bad and probably scar, he gnawed there on the meat of his nape pretty good. stratus kissed over the bandaid and dotted several more up to terzos smiling face. "all patched up"   
"thanks doc." terzo got up and turned around to face stratus, reaching up and using his thumb to push his lip up and coax his mouth open a little. he toyed with the tip of his upper fangs a little, catching the edge on his thumbnail. "assolutamente stupendo mio dolce angelo di un demone"  
stratus kissed terzos thumb as he pulled his hand away and looked at him like the universe itself was in his eyes "i love you."  
"i love you too caro mio"


	3. Chapter 3

the ghouls had their clawed hands dug into his arms, pulling him along at a quick pace down some hallway hed never seen before lit by candles that seemingly didnt melt, his demands to know what was going on, where they were taking him and who they were were met with stony silence, he tried several times to wring out of their grasp but they were much bigger than him and their claws just dug into his skin blood oozing out into the fibers of his shirt. eventually they came to a heavy old door and opened it with a firm push, ice cold air billowed out and gave him goosebumps, the ghouls walked him over and shoved him down into a worn wood chair, then sunk away out of sight. it was quiet for a minute he sat there and started to wonder if anything was going to happen, then papa broke the silence "ashe was it?" he was perfectly cordial. he looked around and didnt see a thing, and couldn't make out where the voice came from "yeah" a beat. "heard any interesting rumors lately?" that time he was sure the voice was moving around and coming from several places at once "uh, *scoffs*, not really no"  
its clear to papa that this ghoul has absolutely no respect, to be speaking to him like this, his behavior, his attitude, his nerve. he materialized behind the ghoul "i heard something the other day when i went to my cobbler. that there was this strange man raving about knowing the secret to eternal life." he paced around the ghoul, warbling physical form "which wasnt that strange at first, every place has its charming lunatics, but what struck me was when my friend told me he'd had the tail and horns of a devil" terzo watched the ghoul stiffen and he raked a claw across the arm of the chair, making him jump, "fewer places have those" "all of us have tails and most of us have horns, what does this have to do with me?" "patience. im perusing the selection of corinth leather as he tells me more about this strange man telling others about his divine power and how his followers are blessed with powers unimaginable." terzo could smell the sweat on the back of ashes neck and feel his heartbeat racing in the air and it was feeding him "so i got to thinking, well there's no doubt thats one of my ghouls, but," he suddenly appeared right in front of ashe and he nearly leapt from his seat "my ghouls dont have the ability to make other ghouls"   
ashe swallowed sharply and felt the intensity of papas glare like he was stripped bare, body and mind  
"theres only one thing that can make more ghouls," terzo growled "and when i got back to my castle, and checked in on the ritual chamber and what do i discover missing?" he put a hand on either arm of the chair and his face close to his  
ashe's blood turned to ice as he fully took in his papas face, it was monstrous, eyes wild, skin like glass, a smile flashing teeth like a shark, his hands gnarled with black claws jutting from his nail beds, an air like poison oozed from terzos pores like tar bringing ashe to panic  
"papa-"   
terzo grabbed his throat and pulled ashe closer "my. athame." he hissed. "which, my friends here found," he flicked his eyes to the two ghouls in the shadows, "in your bed." he whispered.  
tears spilled over ashe's cheeks and he pawed at terzos hand, suddenly very aware how small he was  
"did you think i wouldn't find out? that perhaps you could get yourself a merry band of followers and coast on their service to you? what could possibly be so worthy about a pathetic, tiny, vile, deceitful, little imp that you could be worshipped?" terzo smiled at ashe desperately clawing at his hand, jaw opening and closing like a fish, gulping for oxygen "i am satans conduit on earth, he is inside me, writhing in pleasure watching a worm like you suffer" he emphasized his last word with one rapid squeeze, a high pitched snap echoing in the room and he let go of his throat.  
ashes body rushed to suck in a lung full of air but that only sealed his fate, lodging his hyoid out of place, the snapped edge of the bone sawed into the fine muscle fibers in his throat and blood began filling his lungs  
terzo leant back and cocked his head a little watching ashe's expression rapidly bounce from terror, to relief, to confusion, to horror.  
he couldnt tell what was happening at first- he couldn't catch his breath, like he was breathing through a pillow and then his throat cought a clot of blood and he started coughing, purple black blood splattered on terzos face, his shirt, the floor, ashe leant over and coughed into his hand, feeling every pathetic attempt at breath stab him in the throat over and over, every miniscule movement making him bleed more. he went to stand up, fully panicking, but the two ghouls came forward and held him down, seconds ticked by like hours for him in agony, as those three watched him struggle to breathe. blood and tears mixed pouring down his chin and caking his shirt and lap.   
terzo keeps direct eye contact with the ghoul, making certain he knows how much he enjoyed watching him suffer, and several agonizing minutes later, his head slumped forward and the ghouls let him go, body falling to the floor in a heap.   
terzo took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his face. "could you have auri take my clothes for the wash tonight? shes very good at getting blood out" the ghouls bowed their heads and grabbed the body on their way out, dragging it behind them. he sighed at the mess made of his study and made a mental note to order a new rug


	4. Chapter 4

they were walking together along the path holding hands, headed back towards the hotel the band was staying at, they weren't often gifted such perfect weather and just had to take advantage of it by taking a long walk along the lakeshore path, terzo in his civvies and unidentifiable as papa, stratus in his human glamor wearing clothes he got at a thrift store, just two guys.   
they were far from alone on the path, joggers, other people on walks, people in hammocks just enjoying the weather and the sound of the water lapping at the shoreline.  
a man seemed to recognize them bc he made direct eye contact with terzo as he neared them and reached in for a hug "terzo old friend! i never thought id see you again off-stage, how are you doing?"   
stratus smelled cheap cologne on the man and something garlicky he mustve had for lunch.   
"i am well, it has been a long time enzo."  
"too long, we have to make a date to catch up one of these days before youre off to another country again aha"  
"well i am only in town one more night i am afraid, and you'll have to forgive me i am preoccupied at the moment" terzo looked over at stratus pointedly  
"oh yes how rude, im enzo, nice to meet you"   
he furrowed his brow "stratus"  
"nice to meet you stratus, lovely name, and might i add you are one lucky man"  
terzo made an "are you serious lol" face at enzo, like why would you say that, that's really rude trying to start something  
"i am not a man"  
"eh, woman then"  
"im not a woman"  
"human"  
"not a hu-"  
"well it was nice seeing you, but as i mentioned we are busy so we'll take our leave" terzo jumped in   
"sure you don't have time for a coffee or something before you leave?"  
stratus started growling, deep and low in his chest, like a crocodile almost  
"im sure enzo" terzo tried to say over the growl and shook his and stratus' hand a little for emphasis   
enzo looked very confused for a moment, sure he'd heard a strange sound, but moved past "alright, yeah, i get it, guess ill catch up at the next show, see you later" enzo left, continuing on walking in the direction the pair had come from  
terzo and stratus continued on their walk for a little while until they were at a more secluded turn and stratus pushed terzo up against a tree and kissed him, rough, possessive, and terzo giggled, knowing well how jealous his ghoul gets. stratus kissed down his jaw and pulled his shirt collar over a little and bit down on the skin there, avoiding terzos precious neck but still biting in a place people could clearly see  
terzo inhaled sharply as his teeth popped in under his skin "you-" he felt him gnaw on him a little and could've sworn he heard him growl "mine" against his skin  
"tessoro- caro-" terzo got him away from his neck and smiled at him, curling stratus's hair behind his ear "there are other people here, children, yes?"   
stratus grumbled "sorry"  
"not that i don't appreciate the dramatics"  
stratus pouted.  
terzo licked his thumb and wiped the bit of blood off stratus's mouth "ragazzino disordinato i am going to need a new shirt"   
"take mine, i was getting sick of wearing it anyway"   
terzo whapped him on the arm playfully


	5. Chapter 5

terzo stood in full papal vestments. intricately hand embroidered symbology and damask edging on mulberry silk flowed like water and his diamond inlaid grucifix pedant gently swayed as he slid to his knees.   
terzo held stratus's hands and placed a delicate kiss to the palm of each one before bringing them to his forehead and holding them there like he was praying   
stratus stared wide eyed at the man before him knelt in pious grace, in awe at how the conduit for satan himself on earth, the man with the devil's ear, the face of an entire religion would fall in complete submission to the floor and worship at his feet  
"terzo" his heart swelled  
"amica gratia luciferum donari me vobis lumen accendit ignem amoris nigros animam" (my love, by the grace of the morning star, you have given me the light of love and reignited the fire within my black soul.) terzo whispered.  
"ut esset donum, quod a domino meo, semper patitur me honore ei semper amandi" (would such a precious gift from my lord ever allow me the honor of loving him forever?) he pulled his mitre off and gazed upward into his lover's eyes  
"terzo," stratus let out a gentle scoff "i don't speak... whatever language that just was" but he knew it was significant. he held satans avatar between his hands and looked back and forth between his green and white eyes   
"such a silly thing to be afraid of" terzo ran his gloved hands over stratus' framing his face  
"what?" stratus smiled so softly at terzo, he was gazing at him like he was the entire world  
"i love you"  
"and i love you" stratus curled an errant lock of hair from terzos face to behind his ear  
terzo briefly looked away to pull a silver band from his pocket and he presented it to stratus "it is a bit... antiquated, at least to me, i was never taught these things, theyre... usually for the christ worshippers"  
stratus pulled his hands away to cover his mouth as he stared at the ring terzo was holding out, his heart started racing  
"and don't tell anyone i said this, but some of their ideas are okay" he smiled and held his hand out for stratus's right hand "i asked," he took a breath, "if you would permit me to love you, and only you, forever"   
stratus felt tears well up in his eyes and a blush crept across his entire face and chest. "just a... "lowly ghoul"" his voice cracked, mocking what he'd overheard nihil say a few weeks ago before he went 'missing'   
"if the devil were to see you, he would kiss your eyes and repent"  
"thats coming pretty close to outright blasphemy" stratus laughed and fell to his knees to face terzo "i would love nothing more" he gave terzo his hand and slid it into his finger, a perfect fit  
"oh mio tesoro più prezioso non hai idea di quanto mi hai reso felice!" terzo crashed his lips into stratus's and he held onto him like the ground could fall away at any moment "ah! ti amo ti amo ti amo tanto" he peppered stratus's face in little kisses, his giggles like a song to him  
"i remember that one! i love you too terzo!" stratus managed to get out between pecks  
suddenly the door swung open "papa your cue is in 30 seconds!"   
"oh fuck already?!" terzo leapt up and checked his makeup in the dressing room mirror, only barely smudged on his temples, thats fine.  
stratus popped his mitre back on and straightened his chasuble "go blow their socks off, ill be stage left" he slapped his butt to get him moving, he cant miss the opening of a show again


	6. Chapter 6

imperator calls a halfhearted meeting to discuss how nihil hasnt been heard from for several days, the boys and the more important ghouls are there "so" "so..." "so?" "has anyone seen him?" "like, in general? i know what he looks like" "old as fuck" "no! i think hes missing!" "he's wandered off before, remember that time we found him living in that target for four days and only because he tried to order pizza and the employees sussed it out?" "no i already called around, no ones seen an old man in a dress shouting in italian or any other language" "oh noo how terrible" "terzo was filing his nails not even trying to look interested "could you even just pretend to care?" "i would but i have a very important meeting later and i have to save my acting imagination for that" "what meeting?" "the one about..." terzo checked his phone "oh, its this meeting, okay, what are we talking about?" "your father. is. missing." "oh right!" terzo put on an overly sad an concerned face "what are we going to do!!!" "okay anyone else?" "last i saw him he was in his office like last week but that cant be helpful" "i saw him in the front gardens with terzo three days ago arguing" copia gave him a pointed stare "well that could mean anything"


	7. Chapter 7

copia standing in the entrance to terzos office, it’s late and everyone should be asleep but he knows terzo is still up the light underneath the door is bright, he knocks once and then let’s himself in, one would usually wait for an invite but it’s copia and he doesn’t really care, what he is surprised to see is his brother standing between the knees of one of the band ghouls who is sitting on the edge of his desk arms wrapped around his shoulders, he can’t remember his name but probably should if he’s going to be touring with them sooner than later, and the two look towards him as he steps in, the ghoul quickly pulls away and jumps down, “sorry i’ll just. be leaving”, stratus walks past copia, head down but even if they stand at the same height stratus shrinks a bit next to him, something about still being a little put off by the rest of the family, copia comes in fully and watches as terzo wipes at his neck, a hickey forming, “soooo what do i owe the displeasure of you interrupting me so late”  
“sorry didn’t realize you had. company”  
terzo smirks and sits at his desk, not offering for copia to sit, he sits anyway, terzo looks away while copia stares at him, terzo suddenly shoots out “what?!”  
copia calmly reply’s  
“what happen to father.”   
“i’ve no idea”  
“you were fighting with him and now he’s just gone”  
“yeah well....maybe he needed a break”  
copia looks at him unimpressed   
“terzo.... what happened?”  
terzo looked up at him finally and sighed, he interlaced his fingers over the top of the desk   
“he upset me and. now he’s gone, it’s really no big deal i don’t see why anyone cares he doesn’t DO anything he just sat around being irritating and he smelled and was so rude he was always rude to me-“  
"....did he say something about you and that ghoul"copia cuts in  
"that GHOUL has a name" terzo and copia just stare at each other for a moment, suddenly the lightbulb clicks  
"....oh fuck you didnt..." he breaths out falling back into his chair  
terzo looks at him sideways, “didnt what?"  
"you fell in love"  
terzo doesn’t respond and copia gets up, he walks around to the other side of the desk and while terzo brings his fist up to his mouth, he lays his hand on terzos shoulder, nothing is said between the brothers, the only two who truly have the most in common as much as they fight, as much as they claim to detest each other, so they stand there, one giving as much comfort as he can and that will be accepted, the other trying very hard not to lose his cool in front of him


	8. Chapter 8

stratus up in one of the empty castle towers looking down, he spots terzo walking with nihil and smiles seeing him, he begins to climb down when he over hears them talking to each other, he looks again and it’s more ‘terzo looking very angry and nihil yelling back in response’ stratus stops and looks on confused, he can’t hear what they are talking about but he can see that it’s making terzo upset, until finally nihil says something that sound like “that’s final” and terzo huffs and stalks away, stratus climbs down and finds him later brooding in his room, looking angry as hell still, stratus comes in and he doesn’t even offer a greeting which is weird, he walks up to where he is standing at the window looking out with a tightly gripped glass of wine in his hand, slowly stratus reaches up and takes the glass glass from his hand and links his fingers into his, he hears terzo let out a soft huff of a breath, almost a laugh, and let’s him slot their hands together and just stand there for a bit, he never does tell stratus what they were fighting about but that truly was the last time anyone ever saw nihil alive and stratus thinks it may have something to do with it


	9. Chapter 9

after being around for a while, he can tell with consistency who a ghoul was sacrificed by, just by seeing their scar. primo is a master of the classic, let the athame fall where it may, center of the chest on the breastbone so it slides to the left or right to pierce the heart, or on more malnourished devotees he has been known to stab right through the bone, his scars have a definite horizontal flow to them. secendos scars have a supernatural perfection to them, always between the fourth and fifth rib, his steady hand leaves a scar barely a couple inches wide and always on the left. terzo always bends the rules a little, dead is dead right? so he usually went for the lower neck, right above the collarbone, not wanting to bother avoiding the sternum and ribs. copia prefers going up under the sternum, leaving a jagged scar under the xiphoid


	10. Chapter 10

stratus learns it was secendo that sacrificed him, and he didnt really think about it twice until a long time after, all those times he found himself crying and he didnt know why, flinching when large ghouls yell, that longing in his chest.   
hes still petrified of the man, terzos family was intimidating enough but secendo was downright scary, he doesnt know any ghoul whos ever seen him smile.  
he works up the courage one afternoon to knock on his office door. "ah if it isnt the ghoul my brother turned patricite [father killer] for."  
stratus swallowed thickly "papa,"  
"secendo is fine. we are family now, are we not?" he looked down at the ring on stratus's finger   
"secendo," the word felt strange "i was wondering, well i know the odds are like nothing, but, okay so you sacrificed me, all those years ago"  
he raised an eyebrow   
stratus lifted his shirt and showed him the little white scar  
"hm, yes thats me, what about it?"   
"who was i?"   
secendo seemed to think on it for a moment, "why dont you come in"

his office was elegant, live edge wood, mahogany, ebony, matte black metal fixtures. secendo didnt walk, he glided, and he ran a finger along the spines of a full shelf of identical dark red books of descending wear. he pulled one out marked the month and year stratus was born.   
"its warm in here-"   
"i keep extensive journals, and i often note my sacrifices, because i dont do it that often"   
stratus stood awkwardly on the other side of his desk, picking at his nails until secendo motioned for him to sit, then he sat on the very edge of the chair, trying to hide how nervous and uncomfortable he was.   
he picked his glasses up off his desk and paged through the journal for a minute until he found the entry and scanned his script-like handwriting, it was so uniform that an onlooker would assume it was typeface "mm"   
stratus's ears perked up  
"what do you remember?"   
"nothing"   
"nothiny at all?"  
stratus shook his head  
"unusual... well i didnt write much, but perhaps this paragraph can shed some light on your past." secendo set the journal down on the desk in front of stratus and set his glasses back down exactly where they were before, and went to another part of the room, to give him some space.   
stratus snatched it up and read:  
"Many of the siblings we receive are quiet, since they are often escaping something; abuse, loss, family, responsibility; but this one hasnt said a single word since I met him. Rain informed me that he met this one in a bar in America, Chicago specifically, and said he looked in dire need of something to change. Whatever he meant by that I am at a loss and while he hasn't spoken to me, the sisters assure me he is a perfect devotee. He is scheduled to be sacrificed this evening. All goes well, we may have a new groundskeeper since that tragic event with Ashe."  
stratus flipped the page, a new date, nothing, flipped back, looking for more "this is it?"   
"they are my personal logs, Stratus, we dont keep.. personnel files on devotees. Many don't stay. It would be a waste of time, especially considering anonymity is something most of the ghouls came here for"  
"do you remember me?" stratus stood and paced over to secendo by the window  
secendo could feel how distressed stratus was, and genuinely felt bad for him, but he had nothing to offer him "no. im sorry."   
stratus clutched the journal tight and his eyes flickered around the floor  
secendo felt there may be tears coming and didnt want to see that "stratus" he placed hia hand on his shoulder "if it may offer any comfort at all, people come here because they want to leave their life behind. try to focus on your life now. your friends, your family, terzo. surely it is better than what you may have left behind."   
stratus suddenly came in for a hug and squeezed secendo tight for a long moment "thank you" he breathed against his sweater  
"if you tell anyone im secretly nice ill have to kill you"   
"my lips are sealed"


	11. Chapter 11

she was far from negligent, she was just so very busy all the time, nihil was no help he was just a sperm donor who happened to be really handsome when he was young, single mother of four running a religion, comparable to running a nation really with the hundreds of members in the castle alone she resides over and that doesnt begin to count the sects across the world whose leaders she keeps regular contact with to ensure theyre in line and on message. she speaks with a literal god on a regular basis, she has to ensure she feeds him souls so retain their supernatural powers and demon servants, she has to order cloth for uniforms, food, keep the place a secret, manage money in terms of donations and tributes and allocating funds for upkeep of their home, buy the food and clothes, buy band equipment, their internet bill is 2 grand a month! shes so fucking busy all the time even with her, well not "managers" but her adult sons and the older ghouls she delegated the jobs to, but even with all that going on, she managed to find the time and energy to be a good mother, loving her children, doting on them, making them happy, theyre the future after all


	12. Chapter 12

One becomes a ghoul by dying. A ritual is performed, and a human devotee is sacrificed in the name of Satan. Their body is then buried in a Christian cemetery, and about three months later, depending on if it’s winter, they unearth themselves, born anew and like newborn baby turtle they just know where to head.   
They must be 100% positive in their convictions before they’re sacrificed or they won’t come back, because why would Satan use his power to bring them back if he wasn’t certain of their devotion to him. Most ghouls remember most of their human life, some remember it with perfect clarity, and some remember nothing at all. They’re considered the luckiest because they don’t have anything to miss.   
Ghouls have skin ranging from snow white to pitch black though the vast majority are a dark grey, and many don’t have a solid skin tone. Vitiligo, freckles, scarring, patches, mottling, and many other variations are common.   
Ghouls also don’t ascribe to human defined sexes; in general, their anatomy can be sorted into three types: those that can receive genetic material, those that can receive and give, and those that can give. Their reproductive organs are all internal meaning you cannot tell a ghoul’s sex or gender by seeing them naked- they have cloacas. Ghouls that can receive genetic material only have mammary tissue late in pregnancy and through the nursing age, like any respectable mammal would (glares at humans). Pregnancy itself is rare; being technically dead doesn’t help with fertility rate. Three or four babies in a decade is successful. There is no social hierarchy between born ghouls and turned ghouls- a ghoul is a ghoul.   
The Emeritus family is exactly that: a family’ a dysfunctional family, but a family. Primo is the big brother who just wants to garden, and he grows the best weed in Europe. He and Satan have a weekly cribbage match every Friday over fish. Secendo is a stoic, more serious man with the largest and most immaculate collection of tarantulas in the world. Arachnologists come to him when they have questions, and he is widely believed to be the worlds foremost expert in tarantulas, specifically desert dwelling tarantulas. But if you get him drunk, he’s the goofiest motherfucker- Terzo and Copia have a tiktok account dedicated to Secendo being a whole freak. Terzo is trans and the shortest member of the family next to Nihil (they’re both 5’7”) and it bugs him to no end. Satan may have granted him his desire to appear “male”, but he forgot to ask to be taller and no he won’t answer his calls. He dyes his hair to seem edgier. Copia is the bastard child of Imperator and Satan and he’s also trans. He’s also the tallest member of the family and doesn’t miss an opportunity to be smug about it to Terzo. He’s also well aware he isn’t Nihil’s, being the only brown eyed brunette in a family of green-eyed blondes is sort of a giveaway.


	13. Chapter 13

imperator when terzo tells her about stratus: my son, you know i don't care how you live your life, you can do and be or be with whom ever you'd want....as long as they aren't a christian  
terzo: thanks mom  
stratus still freaking out knowing that's all their mom: uhh yeah, thank you...... mom?  
imperator hugging terzo: no you still call me imperator   
stratus: yes ma'am   
she says to stratus as he was following terzo out "if you hurt him ill skin you alive, ran the hide and use it as a bath rug, and then ill make sure you survive so i can force you to watch as i feed your arms and legs to my dogs and then ill just let you starve to death as an immobile lump of flesh"

imperator inherited the church from her mother, who inherited it from her mother’s mother, and each one of them instilled into her a simple ideology, “we serve no men, we never will, they are simply allowed here because Our Dark Lord needs us to continue on and prosper to spread his dark ways” and she’s very dedicated, she is able to communicate with Him directly sometimes, so when she’s young (20ish) she goes out to find someone to help her continue on the tradition of the church (basically someone to help her get pregnant with the new church leaders idk it sounds bad no matter how i write it) SO she finds nihil, brings him back, she gets pregnant with primo, now i can’t clock her personality type yet but she’s not a neglectful mother, she does run a church, but they are all still her babies, and nihil is just. there. he doesn’t do any of the raising the kids stuff she just keeps him busy with meaningless stuff, and i think she liked being with the boys, they were absolutely demons as children but they loved each other in their own kinda fucked up “raised in a satanic worshipping church” way


	14. Chapter 14

hard one maybe, their first fight, not horrible relationship ruining just, one or the other gets pissed off and has to calm down or maybe they start to bicker   
i think it would stem from terzos privilege, i mean theyre both white men but stratus is from a disadvantaged background and was born again, basically, into a service race, i think he'd notice terzo being snippy with a ghoul just trying to help and hed say something like "you could've been nicer" "why? they weren't doing their job right, their job is doing what i want when i want it." "so im just a servant to you. my job is to please you and when youre done with me, you'll toss me aside and find a pretty new plaything to do what you want when you want it" and it really pissed stratus off "but youre different" "no im not." and terzo doesn't see his hypocrisy, bc why would he, he's been waited on hand and foot his whole life, never knew any different, but he could see how angry stratus was, he stormed out of the room and didn't see him for a week (stratus is a very patient man) terzo had to write a fucking letter to contact him, and it want until he showed genuine remorse and change that stratus even looks him in the eyes again. terzo has been since very kind to his ghouls

also when you're done with that, i know you said terzos fear is abandonment and being left behind or forgotten, tossed aside, what is stratus fear, rational or not, he can't remember his passed so it could be connected to that  
stratus is petrified of screaming/angry men, makes him freeze up and panic, and he doesn't like having his back to the only door to a room, makes the hair on thr back of his neck stand on end, hes also really claustrophobic


	15. Chapter 15

Terzo comes out, obviously everyone’s okay with it they’ve seen gender changes they work with satan but hes still nervous about it a little bit hes in line now to become papa, both his older brothers kinda ignore him when he asks about it but i like to think him and primo have a better relationship while secendo is still papa, primo takes terzo under his wing and starts teaching him important things, things their father never taught primo and hed wished he did but now he has terzo to teach.

So terzo has a fear of abandonment? Cool lets go the first time he ever has a nightmare all his family dies and hes left alone, the church excommunicates him he has Nobody, he wakes up and immeditealy runs out of his room to pace the halls to his big brothers’ rooms and checks in to see that theyre in there, still asleep, until he checks on little copias room, he’s up with his rats and is ery confused when terzo peeks in, slightly embarrassed terzo goes to excuse himself but copia says ‘no, stay a minute’ cause he can tell terzo is on edge he stays and copia just sits with him while talking about his rats even if terzo isn’t listening or cares, he seems to calm somewhat after a while

Terzo has a tattoo of the jesus fish on his ass he got when he was drunk and he somehow managed to convince copia to get a matching on the next time theyre blitzed together

Terzo was such a pissy fucker when copia first came into the picture. ‘I don’t want a fucking sister!’ ‘watch your MOUTH, she is a part of this family and you will learn to love her or you can leave.’ Such a noisy baby, he hated how she got all the attention- he thought itd be over by the time she got a little bigger but no, baby, toddler, little kid, big kid, all they did was dote on her and terzo was getting jaded “how do you think I felt when secendo came around?” primo said “you just have to get over it little brother, mom and dad still love you, copia is just the little one now.” And time passes and copias around that age where things start developing and terzo could tell something was off, that she hated it, he’d felt the exact same way, acted the same way, he saw himself in his little sibling and (wow, ego much?) that was the trigger for him to knock it the hell off and start being nicer, he didn’t snub and avoid copia, at every opportunity he engaged them in their hobbies which is when he learned they love rats but their parents said no bc they weren’t old enough to handle the responsibility, more time passes and theyre not exactly best friends but terzo had told copia he was trans himself, casually dropping it in a related conversation, just to let copia know it was safe, and it wasn’t long after that that copia told him he was trans too, and that hed been scared to tell anyone, he was the baby and everyone was so much older than him he didn’t have a single peer, a single friend outside the little “school” that was mostly for the handful of ghoul kits and he wasn’t a ghoul, hed felt so alone and terzo cried which made copia cry and they shared a hug tight enough to crack joints

Stratus is an earth ghoul, so he’s headstrong, stubborn, and sedulous. He’s six foot four and two hundred and fifty pounds of functional muscle- not ripped like a body builder, but fit. He doesn’t remember anything about when he was a human, and he’s been told this is pretty uncommon, but considered lucky, he doesn’t have anything to miss about his human life. He doesn’t know why, but sometimes he gets so sad and lonely; he can’t help but cry, mourning something he doesn’t remember, and it just fucking sucks. His brain can’t remember but his heart does.  
Stratus was given his name by Cirrus and Cumulus; the ladies sorta adopted him when he stumbled into the castle clearly disoriented and no memory of who he was. “Little gloomy baby, I’m gonna call him Stratus.” “He’s a full grown man babe, not a child.” “I am literally standing right the fuck here.” “Oh sorry yeah how does Stratus sound, and feel?” “It’s… fine.” “You can’t name him Stratus, we don’t even know if he’s an air ghoul!” “Okay but consider this,” she flips the commenter off. 

Idea: Stratus walks into Terzo’s room before a ritual or something else he has to attend and he’s getting ready with all 397562 steps of his process, they flirt, terzo says something like “I can’t I must get ready I’m already late” and stratus goes like “okay then ignore me” and gets on his knees and starts eating him out while terzo tries to continue getting ready, applying products, doing his hair, putting on his rings etc and RIGHT as he’s about to come stratus stands up and says ‘ah well youre almost ready, ill see you after?” and smirks

Stratus’s personality started out as a pretty quiet but steadfast ghoul right away, he didn’t speak much but he was bullheaded, very determined, he WILL finish any task you give him (that he wants to do anyway) no matter what. He fully destroyed a a stone wall in the castle because he was told to move a piano and couldn’t figure out how to get it through the doorway. Don’t worry though, he put it back together later that week.   
He actually picked his name partially out of spite- he’d overheard a couple ghouls talking about him, calling him gloomy and dull, and he considered the air ghoulettes his, well, not his moms, but he looks up to them, so he asked them hey whats a gloomy could and he picked his favorite of the ones they listed.   
He has all the patience in the world it’s frightening, do NOT challenge him to a prank war bc he will win and theres nothing you can do about it. His skin is black on his back and it blends outward towards his front to a medium light greym like the backs of his arms and legs and black too but his chest and face and shins and forearms are lighter, he has two pairs of upper fangs and one pair of lower ones, a split tongue, black sclera, white iris, pointy ears, spade tail, dark brown hair down past his shoulder blades, claws, horns that curl upward from his forehead along the curve of his head and they point upwards at the tips. His nipples are pierced, his tongue is pierced, and he has six dermals on his neck, three on each side along his scm muscle.


	16. Chapter 16

Baby ghouls discovering their elements by seizing fire, splashing a wave while on a walk near the pond, laughing and the wind shakes the trees, they teethe on bones, ghoul babies are precious but dangerous think Jack Jack Parr.  
There's only one known instance of a ghoul having Twins and the mother and one of the babies died it was tragic the ghouls mourned for months they actually postponed a tour because of it   
Terzo owns an extensive collection of strapons and dildos most of which he doesn't remember buying because he drunk shops. He has more than once set out to be the first person to invent a strap that connects directly to the clit, but has yet to be successful on the count that he doesn’t remember saying it the morning after. stratus is a size queen terzo shows him his his favorite straps and he sees a larger one almost comically unrealistic pornstar size he blushes and terzo picks it up and says we will work up to that one don't worry   
Terzo circa age 5 finding out his older brothers get to see what goes on during ritual sacrifices and he whines about wanting to be a part of one, primo and secendo just look at each other before smiling and saying fine we can sneak you in but you have to be quiet terzo is excited hiding under the draped table his brothers pushed him under until he sees where the ghouls come from, not that it totally scars him for life but he can't look at new ghouls the same way anymore  
Swiss has terzo in his phone under the contact dad it is a joke but dew actually got upset about it once and now he exclusively refers to terzo as dad and terzo refers to Swiss exclusively as son


End file.
